A Woman's Touch
by bradp521
Summary: What if it was Catwoman, not Batman, in attendance at the Haley Circus on that fateful night when the Flying Graysons were killed?
1. Rainy Days and Mondays

The bright yellow beacon hadn't been shining through the Gotham skies long when a dark shadow dropped quietly next to Commissioner Gordon on the roof of police headquarters.

"What can I do for you?" asked the shadow.

"And hello to you, too, Batman," Gordon said and took a puff on his pipe before continuing.

"We picked up a Mick Dugan tonight, one of the local muscle-for-hire. He was trying to collect protection money from a circus that's passing through town, Haley's Circus. They're opening tonight, going to be here for a couple weeks."

"Who was Dugan working for this time?" asked Batman.

"He lawyered up before we could get that out of him," answered the Commissioner. "Strange thing, though. He was also carrying a set of blueprints for the Gotham Museum of Art and Antiquities."

"The Kane Diamond," Batman said.

"That's our bet," Gordon said. He pulled a small cassette tape player out of his coat pocket and continued, "Most of the interrogation was pretty standard, but there was one bit that I thought would be particularly interesting to you."

The Commissioner hit play...

_Dugan: Look, Detective Bullock, I'm small potatoes._

_Bullock: Small potatoes guys don't usually carry around the floor plans to museums. So tell me, Mr. Small Potatoes, is one of the big boys branching out past the protection rackets?"_

_Dugan (nervously): This isn't exactly something any of them knew about, but a guy has to make a buck, right?_

_Bullock: Holding out on those guys? You're braver than you look, Mick. So if you're small potatoes and none of them is calling the shots, suppose you tell me who is?_

_Dugan: It's kind of freelance, you know. She needed the blueprints, and my brother-in-law works at the construction firm that did their big renovation last year. She was gonna pay good money for 'em, and it's not like anybody needed to know what I did on my own time._

_Bullock: She? She who? You workin' for Mata Hari?_

_Dugan: Hey, I wasn't workin' for nobody but me. She needed something, and I said I'd sell it to her. I ain't workin' for no skirt, though._

_Bullock: Okay, so you're some kind of wheeler-dealer. Fine. What I need is a name. Who were you gonna sell the blueprints to?_

_Dugan: (half-whispered) Catwoman._

Gordon stopped the tape at that point, pulled it out of the player, and handed it to Batman. "I figured you'd probably want your own copy," he said.

Batman silently slid the tape into a compartment of his utility belt and said, "I'll watch the museum. Your people can keep an eye on the circus."

"We'll be there," replied the Commissioner. He paused to relight his pipe before continuing. "You'll be monitoring the radio in case she shows up at the circus?"

He looked up to find that he was standing alone.

*****************

Selina Kyle sat on the couch in her terrycloth robe, looking over a set of blueprints.

"Good thing Dugan didn't have the only set," she murmured. "Although I'll probably need to use a different entrance than the one I had planned on."

She studied the blueprints a few more minutes before setting them down and picking up the TV remote. Tuning into a local newscast, she toweled her hair while she waited for the weather report.

The weatherman gestured toward a map of the metro area and said, "There's a front headed our way that should drop a lot of rain on Gotham tonight, so you better take your raincoat if you have to go anywhere."

Selina picked up one of the 8 or 9 cats lounging around the room, and scratching the feline between the ears, she said, "Hmmm, what do you think? Do we go out and crawl the rooftops in the rain or do we wait a night or two?"

The cat purred contentedly and nestled down into her lap. "I agree," she said, "Why be cold and wet when we can stay warm and dry? It's not as if the diamond's going anywhere tonight."

As the weatherman completed his report, the anchorwoman turned to him and asked, "What are the odds that tonight's Knights game will sneak in before the rain hits?"

The weatherman said, "About the same as their chances of winning: not very good."

The anchorwoman turned back to the camera and said, "Fortunately, not every attraction in town is vulnerable to the weather. Tonight, the Haley Circus is opening two weeks of performances at the Fairgrounds, and the weather outside won't affect the newest features of the show, two tigers named Julius and Caesar."

"Tigers, eh?" said the woman. "Maybe I ought to go out after all."

*****************

John and Mary Grayson made the final adjustments to their costumes, thereby completing the transformation from average American husband and wife to the not-so-average team of The Flying Graysons.

"So, Mary," he asked, "What do you think about the offer to teach in that gym school in Metropolis?"

"Frankly, I'm not sure," she said. "I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain appeal to settling somewhere and putting down some roots. Besides, it'd probably be better for Dick. I mean, how normal is it for a boy to have an elephant like Elinore as his favorite playmate?"

"I know," John agreed. "But the other side of the coin is how much Dick loves it here. Granted, he doesn't know anything else, but how do you think he'd feel about leaving?"

"He'd probably hate it at first," Mary admitted. "But if it's best for him, ..." and with that she let the sentence hang unfinished in the air.

There was a knock on the trailer door, and Mr. Haley stuck his head in the trailer, saying, "John? Mary? It's almost show time."

"We're on our way," replied John, and turning to Mary, he said, "Let's talk about this more tonight after the show."

"Dick, are you about ready?" called Mary.

The door to the smaller bedroom opened and a young boy came out, also decked in one of the colorful costumes.

"Ready, Mom!" he declared, and as if to prove the point, he promptly turned upside down and walked on his hands over to the door of the small trailer before flipping back on to his feet.

*****************

"Lookit that," said one of the clowns to the other, pointing to the lady standing in front of an empty cage. "She could honk my horn anytime."

The second clown smacked the first one on the back of the head and said, "Don't be rude." He then walked over to the woman and said, "'Scuse me, but the animals are all backstage by now. The Flying Graysons are about to open the show, and that's something special to see."

"Thank you," said Selina, and, she headed down toward the brightly-lit big top. She handed her ticket to the man in front of the tent, slipped inside, and found a seat.

The performance was sharp and fast-paced, and, much to her surprise, Selina found herself enjoying the circus as a whole and not just the tigers she came to see. Before she realized it, the ringmaster was announcing the Grand Finale.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would turn your attention to the trapeze, you will see that we have brought back the Flying Graysons for one final thrill!"

Selina began to move toward the exit as Dick Grayson finished his final routine and made his way to the ground.

"Avoiding the rush, eh, Miss?" asked the usher.

Before Selina could answer, though, there was a collective gasp from the crowd. As the gasps turned to screams, she turned around to see what was happening. She looked up to where she expected to see the colorfully clad acrobats and saw only a couple of ropes with frayed ends dangling in the air. She turned her gaze to the sawdust floor, a sickening feeling sweeping over her as she saw what she knew she would: the man and woman, lying bent and very still in the center of the ring. Lying next to them was the trapeze.

*****************

"Mom! Dad!" screamed Dick as he saw his parents on the ground, motionless. He tried to run to them, only to be met by Maisie, one of the clowns.

Maisie tried to hold the boy in the midst of the horrified melee, saying, "No, Dick, don't go there. You don't want to see that!" but Dick twisted his way out of her grasp and pushed his way through the crowd. It was as though he expected his parents to get up and tell him everything was okay if only he could get close enough.

John and Mary Grayson were beyond talking, though, and the rapidly departing crowd was hushed, if only for a moment, by the small boy's plaintive scream of "NOOOOOOOO!"

As the crowd scattered away from the tent, the circus people began to converge on the center ring, and again, someone tried to hold onto Dick. This time it was Mr. Haley who tried to pull the boy away from the tragic scene.

In desperation, Dick pushed the older man away. It seemed like everyone who wasn't gathered around his parents' bodies was trying to get ahold of him. So he did the only thing that made sense to his young mind, overcome with grief and rage. He ran toward the open tent flap in the direction of the family trailer, the one place that had always been home within a home.

Selina's initial instinct had been to flee herself. However, the panicky exodus of the crowd had quickly blocked her off from the opening she had nearly reached. So instead, she made her way to the rapidly emptying seats and moved quickly through the narrow rows toward another, less crowded exit on the far side.

Then she saw the small boy rushing toward the same exit that she had chosen. Even at a distance she could see something in his eyes that brought back memories of her own parents' deaths, and with a deep breath, she followed him out of the tent. Seeing where he was running, she cut between the Haley Circus moving vans, which had been parked in a row outside the tent. Reaching the end of the line of trucks, she reached out to the running boy and caught him in her arms.

"Let me go!" he cried. "Let me go!"

Selina held him firmly, though, and he gradually stopped struggling. She whispered, "It's okay, go ahead and cry, it's okay," as he simply buried his head in her shoulder and wept.

It was only a few moments before the people from the circus found them, and there was soon a small crowd of people gathered around Dick and Selina, who was surprised to find that there were tears in her own eyes as well.

*****************

Selina stood outside the circus' office trailer, sipping a cup of coffee handed to her by one of the circus workers. The door to the office opened and looking up, she saw Commissioner Gordon and, for the briefest of moments, she froze. The Commissioner looked at her without a hint of recognition and said, "Hello, Ma'am, I'm - "

"Commissioner Gordon," she finished.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Do we know each other?"

"Only by reputation," she said and handed him a card, which simply said, "Catherine Fellini, Antiquities Consultant".

"Ah," he said. "Well, Miss Fellini, I'm sorry we had to keep you waiting here. I just need to ask you a few questions, what you saw and so forth."

She recounted for him what little she had seen and what led her to be holding the boy after he ran out of the tent. Then she asked, "What happens to the boy now?"

"That'll be a matter for the court to decide, but my guess is that, unless some family member comes forward, he'll become a ward of the state and go to the County Youth Home."

Selina stared thoughtfully into her cup of coffee as one of the detectives interrupted to ask the Commissioner a question, and then he turned back to her and said, "Well, an officer will be here to take your statement. Thanks for your help. We'll be in touch if we need to ask you anything else."

She shook his extended hand and said, "Anytime, Commissioner, anytime at all."

*****************

After Selina gave her statement, she looked across the grounds. She saw the boy leave a trailer, accompanied by a policewoman who carried his suitcase and by a number of weeping circus performers.

He looked up at Selina and wordlessly waved goodbye to her as he got into the patrol car. She watched the car drive slowly away, and then she went to her own car. Sitting behind the wheel, she turned the key and drove away. Passing the entrance, she simply shook her head and muttered, "Damn."


	2. Ticket To Ride

Selina sat at the coffee table and, for what seemed like the hundredth time, she opened a set of blueprints. She stared at them for a few moments, but her attention kept being drawn away from the plans to the newspaper sitting nearby. A publicity photo of the Flying Graysons accompanied the headline, "After A Week, Still No Answers In Circus Tragedy". In the article, Commissioner Gordon was quoted as saying that the incident was still under investigation and no cause had yet been determined.

She picked up the paper and continued to read the article, which she had already read a number of times, and then she threw the paper down again, as she had every time before. She looked back at the plans only for a moment before folding them back up once again, putting them in her desk, and striding to her bedroom.

*****************

"So, Grayson, you were in the circus, huh? I heard there's lots of freaks in the circus. You a freak, too?"

The boys who were gathered and watching at the door of the room laughed at their leader's joke. Dick Grayson ignored the taunting as he sat in his room, staring at a photo of his parents.

"You deaf, Grayson? I was talking to you."

Dick looked up and said, "Just leave me alone, Nate."

"Can't do that, circus boy," said Nate. "Not until we let you know how things work around here."

Dick turned his back to his tormentor, holding his stuffed elephant close to his chest. Two of the boys came in and they each grabbed one of Dick's arms and held him in place while Nate came around and pressed his finger in Dick's chest.

"Now here's the way it is, circus boy," he said. "What's mine is mine. If you have something I want, then that's mine too. You hold out and you pay the price. You tell on us, and you pay the price. You do what we say, and you keep your mouth shut, and we leave you alone. Got it?"

The two boys roughly pushed Dick back onto the bed and then the three bullies walked out.

Dick lay on the bed, clutching his elephant, and wept.

*****************

"Damn," said Selina, watching through binoculars from the roof of the building across the street. "Should've known better than to think it had gotten any better since I was here."

She continued watching until the lights were turned out in each room, and then she turned and took off across the rooftops.

"Soon," she whispered.

*****************

Two nights later, Dick was lying awake after lights were out, when he heard a sound outside. Looking up, he saw the window opening and a woman in purple climbed inside.

"Wh-who are you?" he whispered.

"Relax," Selina said, pulling back the cowl of her outfit. "See? It's me, the lady who held you at the circus that night. Remember how I told you that you weren't alone?"

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want to see if you're okay," she said softly, dropping to a knee next to the bed, and reaching out, she wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Do you want to stay here?"

He looked at her with confusion. "I don't understand. They said this is where kids without any families have to live."

"Maybe not," she said. "If you could leave, would you?"

"Would there be bullies where I went?" he asked.

"No, Dick," she said, "no bullies at all."

"That would be nice," he said. "The other boys call me circus boy and ask if I'm a freak."

Selina put her arms around the boy, whose tears were on the verge of beginning again. She held him for a few moments and then she said, "Okay, Dick, help me get everything off the bed."

They stripped the bed and then she began to make a rope out of the sheets and the blanket. She tied one end of the rope to the radiator and pulled on it to make sure it was tight, and then she threw the other end out the window.

"Are we going to climb down the rope," he asked doubtfully.

She smiled, "No, but we're going to let them think you did."

She picked up his shoes from the foot of the bed, and with a wink, she said, "I'll be right back."

Dick watched curiously as she slipped back out the window and climbed down the makeshift rope. Hanging upside down, she pressed the small shoes into the moist dirt of the flower bed to create footprints leading to the concrete sidewalk. She looked at it for a moment and, satisfied with her work, climbed back up to the window.

She brushed the dirt off the shoes before she handed Dick the shoes. As he slipped them on, she asked, "Is there anything special that you wouldn't want to leave behind?"

He nodded, and pointed to the photo of his parents and the elephant he still held under his arm. She slipped the photo into a pouch she had slung over her shoulder and secured the elephant to a cord around her waist. Then she turned to the boy and said, "Okay, climb on my back and hold on tight."

He did as she said, and she slipped out the window, where there was a rope dangling from the roof. She quickly climbed up with the amazed boy on her back, and they disappeared into the night.

*****************

Batman sat silently, ignoring the sandwiches on the table next to him. His attention was fixed on the monitor in front of him, which was tuned to the newscast of one of the local television stations. He watched as a young man looked into the camera and began his report.

"Authorities are not publicly speculating as to the whereabouts of young Dick Grayson, whose parents were killed a little over a week ago as they performed at the Haley Circus here in Gotham City. Commissioner Gordon had no comment on the boy's disappearance from the Gotham Youth Home sometime last night. Sources familiar with the investigation say that there is no evidence of foul play or anything other than a simply case of a runaway child. However, given that police have not yet made any arrests in the murders of John and Mary Grayson, they are not willing to rule out a possible connection between their deaths and the boy's disappearance. For Gotham Eyewitness News at Six, I'm James Kendall."

He switched off the monitor and sat in silence for a moment, his fingertips pressed together in an almost prayer-like pose as he thought.

"A fearsome thing," said Alfred, breaking into the Dark Knight's solitude. "A child that young, grieving and alone."

Batman didn't say anything as his own mind raced back to when he grieved the deaths of his own parents. Though he'd had Alfred, as well as Leslie Tompkins, the overriding sense, even all these years later, was of being alone.

He pushed himself away from the computer console, and grabbing a sandwich, he said, "I'm sure the GCPD can find him."

Alfred knew when to plant a seed and when to let it rest, so he simply responded, "Perhaps." The Englishman noted with quiet satisfaction, though, that as the now fully-garbed Batman moved toward the car, he had a photo of Dick Grayson in his hand.


	3. Sing

Selina paused at the door of her guest room and looked through the open door. The light by the bed was shining on Dick, who had a Hardy Boys book resting on his chest. The book moved slowly up and down in rhythm with the sleeping boy's breathing, and Selina slipped into the room and set her cappuccino on the dresser. Dick only stirred slightly as she picked up the book and put it on the bedside table. She turned off the light, pulled the sheet up, and bent to lightly kiss the boy on the forehead.

"Sleep tight, Dick," she whispered as he nestled down into the bed, more asleep than awake. He pulled Elinore, his ever-present stuffed elephant, closer to his chest and fell back into a deep sleep as she picked up her cappuccino and drew the door closed behind her.

She sat on the sofa, curled her legs up beneath her, and flipped on the television. After watching the end of an old episode of "I Love Lucy" that she hadn't seen before, Selina switched to the news. The lead story was the transfer, under heavy security, of the Kane Diamond to Metropolis, it's next stop on the nationwide exhibition tour. A reporter asked Commissioner Gordon how they managed to keep the diamond out of the hands of any of Gotham's better known rogues.

"I don't comment on security procedures," Commissioner Gordon answered. "Suffice it to say, the diamond is leaving in the same way it arrived, so apparently our efforts were successful."

"A little cocky, are we, Commissioner?" Selina thought. "Maybe I should pick up something just to poke a hole in your balloon." Then, after a long sip, she glanced over her shoulder toward the guest room and added, "Or maybe not."

*****************

With the diamond safely on its way out of town, Batman turned his attention to the attempted extortion of the Haley Circus and the still-unsolved murders of Richard and Mary Grayson. The most logical lead to follow was to find out who Dugan was working for when he threatened the circus. Two days of cracking heads, though, only led to the conclusion that Dugan had worked for just about every crime boss in Gotham at one time or another.

Commissioner Gordon was working late in his office when Batman slipped quietly in through the window. Glancing up at his guest, Gordon said, "The DA wanted me to thank you for doubling his case load this week."

Ignoring the comment, Batman said, "Suppose you were to turn Dugan loose and see where he goes."

"The DA will have kittens, but if you think it'll help, ..." replied the commissioner. He paused long enough to take another puff on his pipe before continuing, "I'll see what I can do. Anything else?"

There was no answer from the flapping curtains where Batman had been standing. He got up, closed the window, and muttered, "You're welcome."

*****************

Mick Dugan polished off his beer with one last swallow and tossed a dollar bill on the bar.

"There you go, Finnegan, buy the Missus something."

The bartender picked up the tip and said, "Yeah, Dugan, now I can buy her that box of jello we've been saving up for."

Mick grinned, folded the racing form under his arm, and headed out onto the dark streets. He wobbled the two blocks to the seedy "men's hotel" that he called home and climbed the well-worn stairs to his room. As he reached for the light switch, he was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled into the black apartment.

A piece of tape was slapped over his mouth before he could let out a cry, and then his hands were roughly tied behind him.

"Let's go, Mick," a voice growled. "Tony wants to have a word with you." With that, he was dragged out of the apartment building and shoved into the back seat of a waiting Cadillac. He felt the car speeding through the streets, then it came to a stop. The same rough hands pulled him out and he saw he was at a modest townhouse on the shore. He then was hauled inside, his hands were cut loose, and the tape unceremoniously ripped from his mouth.

He had no sooner caught his breath when he heard a familiar voice rasp, "Heard you was out, Mick."

Mick spun around (at least, to the extent he could in his inebriated state), and said, "Tony? Geez Louise, you could give a guy heart failure this way. You didn't have to send the bruisers after me."

Rising from the couch, Tony Zucco walked over to Mick and said, "So tell me. How come they cut you loose? I heard they had an airtight case." Lowering his voice to a soft growl, he asked, "What did you give 'em in return for the free pass?"

"N-nothin', Tony," Mick stammered nervously. "I mean, they already knew I was shakin' down the circus, but you know me. I'd never tell 'em who for."

"Then why are you here instead of the county lock-up?"

"I dunno," Mick insisted. "All I know is that the guy from Legal Aid said there was some kind of evidence problem. I heard that one fat detective hollering about 'not properly tagging stuff'.'"

Zucco gave Mick a long look before turning to the picture windows overlooking the harbor. Without facing him, Zucco asked, "You expect me to believe that they lost their airtight case 'cause something didn't get tagged right?"

"I swear, Tony," Mick pleaded. "I didn't tell them anything. I just know what I heard when they set me loose."

"You're asking me to trust you, Mick?" Zucco asked. "You're asking a lot, for somebody who's supposed to be working for me but goes off to do his own thing for some dame. Seems like a real coincidence, you getting sprung by the cops just after you've been doing jobs for somebody else. Makes a person wonder where your loyalties are, Mick" At this point he turned back to Dugan and stepped up very close to his face.

"When you work for me, then I expect you to come to me if you've got something to sell. Not some leather-wearin' broad with a whip. Understand?"

"Sure, Tony," Mick said. "I'll never do it again."

"That's good to know, Mick," Tony said. "I'm glad we had this little 'chat'. We won't need to do this again, will we? Because if we do, there's not going to be much chatting."

With that, Zucco stepped to the intercom on his desk and said, "Get him out of here."

A few minutes later, Dugan was summarily shoved out of the Cadillac onto the sidewalk in front of his apartment building.

************

Batman had followed Zucco's men when they picked up Mick and had listened to the entire conversation before following them back. He watched the car drive down the street before dropping to the street next to the disheveled hood.

"Looks like you're in deep, Dugan."

Mick looked up, and immediately dropped to his knees.

"How'd you know where I was?" he whined.

Instead of answering him, Batman stepped close and whispered, "Haley Circus. I know Zucco was behind it."

"Then whaddaya want with me?"

"Tell me what I don't know. Who pulled the job? Give me some names."

"Look, Batman," the hood insisted, "I was locked up when it happened so I don't know. All I know is that it was a bad night all around."

Batman released his grip and said, "In what way?"

Dugan nervously palmed a cigarette and lit it before continuing. "There was supposed to be another job going down that night. Might've meant some bucks but the person I was helping never pulled the job."

"You mean Catwoman? The Kane Diamond?"

"Oh, you would know about that, wouldn't you? Yeah, that's the one. I bust a gut trying to get her the blueprints and she never does anything so I risked crossing Zucco for nothing."

"And that was supposed to happen the night of the murder at the circus?"

Dugan nodded. Then, as he took a long drag on the cigarette, Batman disappeared. Dugan took several deep breaths before nervously walking back to the bar.

"I thought you were headed home," Finnegan asked.

Dugan just shook his head and said, "Scotch and water, hold the water."

************

As Batman drove through the empty streets, he keyed the mike next to him and said, "Computer. Access database. File: Catwoman. Query: Known locations."

************

Zucco was sitting at his desk when his henchmen returned.

"Tell me something," he asked. "What have you heard on the street about Catwoman?"

"Nothing much," one of the thugs said. "She usually goes for the highbrow stuff. Supposed to be the best."

Tony paused before replying. "I haven't paid any attention to her because she didn't seem like a threat to me. If she's going to try to use my people, though, then she could draw attention to our organization. Bat-caped attention. We don't need that." He took a sip of his drink before adding, "Find her for me."

************

In Selina's penthouse, she was suddenly awakened by a sharp cry. Pulling on her robe, she hurried to the guest room to find Dick sobbing and trembling. She sat on the edge of the bed and held him, whispering, "Shhh, it's okay. You're okay. Was it another bad dream?"

He nodded, and said, "They were falling, and I tried to catch them. Then I started falling, too."

He nestled his head on her shoulder, and she rocked slowly back and forth, saying, "It's going to be okay. It was only a dream. You're safe here."


	4. It's Going To Take Some Time

The following night, Alfred filled the small thermos with hot coffee as Bruce Wayne began to make the transition from playboy to Dark Knight.

"Do you really think Miss Kyle would be involved with someone like Tony Zucco?"

"I don't know," replied Batman. "It's not her usual style. She was planning to hit the museum for the Kane Diamond that night, but something stopped her. She never made a move on it while it was in Gotham. Add to that the fact that a 'Catherine Fellini' was not only at the circus but helped keep the Grayson boy from running off into the night."

"It does seem an odd convergence," admitted Alfred. "I wouldn't have thought it of her, though. Your previous encounters with her were ... of a different nature."

Batman paused a moment before saying, "Completely irrelevant. If she's involved with Zucco, she goes down with him."

"And if she's not?" Alfred asked.

"Then she has some questions to answer."

*****************

Selina and Dick walked down the street to the apartment building, unaware of the eyes watching them from above.

"Did you like the movie, Dick?" Selina asked as she unlocked the penthouse door.

"It was okay," he said as they went inside. "I haven't gone to very many movies. Usually, we had a show, ...." and with that, his voice trailed off.

Selina knelt down and hugged the little boy, saying, "It's okay, Dick, it'll be okay."

Dick wrapped his arms around her neck and whispered, "Promise?"

"I promise," she said.

After some hot chocolate, she tucked Dick into bed and was just settling into the living room when a low voice came from behind her, saying, "Selina. We need to talk."

"You keep some lousy hours, Batman," she said, turning to face him.

"What's the boy doing here?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Jealous?"

He brushed that aside and asked, "What were you doing at the Haley Circus a couple weeks ago?"

"Keeping tabs on me, eh? And I didn't think you cared."

His eyes narrowed and he said, "No games. Answer the question."

Selina gave an exasperated sigh and said, "I was at the circus to see the show, same as anyone else."

"Instead of the other plans you made, like the Kane Diamond?"

"Last time we crossed paths, you were unhappy that I stole something," she answered. "Now you're unhappy that I didn't." Stepping closer to him, she began to trace the Bat insignia on his chest with her fingertips What is it going to take to ... please ... you?"

Ignoring the innuendo, Batman said, "Mick Dugan was providing plans for you and collecting extortion money from the circus for Zucco. You never went after the Kane Diamond. Instead you went to the circus. The Graysons are killed in an 'accident' and you are found with their son. After the Grayson boy disappears from the Gotham Youth Home, I find him with you again."

"So this is when you say, 'Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do'?" she asked. "All right, I did plan on hitting the museum that night, but it was raining. You know that architecture of that building, with all the steep roof and odd angles. I may be a thief, but I'm not suicidal, so I went to the circus instead. Some of us have lives outside of the rooftops. You might try that someday."

Batman's expression didn't change as he said, "And the boy?"

"Are you really suggesting that I had something to do with the murder? Or are you accusing me of kidnapping? I thought you knew me better than that."

"You are guilty of kidnapping. You have no legal standing with the boy."

Some of the fire went out of her eyes and she said softly, "What else could I do? I saw his parents die. I saw his eyes. I know that look. I remember what it feels like."

"That's what the Youth Home is for. There are people there to help kids who've lost their parents."

"I know ALL about the Gotham Youth Hellhole," she snapped back. "Where do you think I wound up when my parents died? There are one or two people who actually give a damn about the kids, and all the others are just doing whatever it takes to pull down a paycheck. I lived through their kind of 'help', but you wouldn't know about that."

Batman paused for a moment, and in a slightly softer tone said, "That doesn't change the fact that you're not the boy's legal guardian."

"Oh please," Selina answered, rolling her eyes. "And you're the role model for obeying the letter of the law? How much of what you do is completely legal and by the book?"

"It's not the same thing, Selina."

"The hell it's not. You work outside of the system because you want to be some kind of force for justice, and you don't let technicalities get in the way. Well, Batman, that's what I'm doing. The system wasn't protecting him. I can."

She paused to catch her breath and turned away from him. When she started up again, there was almost a pleading tone to her voice.

"Look, Batman," she said, "I'm not going to pretend that I'm the first one you think of when you think 'motherhood'. Lord knows I never seriously considered that before. But it's like I said: I watched his parents die, and I saw the look in his eyes. I know what that feels like. Only somebody who's lost their parents as a child can possibly understand that.'

Turning back around, she continued "I went and watched from across the street a few times, and it's no different now than it was when I was there. He was being bullied, and there wasn't anybody there to protect him, just like there wasn't anybody there for me. Being a kid is supposed to be a time of innocence, and he's already lost a big part of that with his parents."

She reached out and placed her hands on his arms and said, "If you're worried about me pulling him into a life of crime, don't be. The Kane Diamond isn't the only job I've passed on because Dick needs me more. I've made enough investments that I can provide for him without stealing anything."

Batman paused for a moment, then said, "The last time we crossed paths, you told me that you couldn't see ever giving that life up. For anything or ... anyone."

Selina simply said, "This is different. It's not about what I might want, and that was something I wanted badly. This is about what he needs that I can give. I can help him. At least let me try. "

Batman paused for a moment, then said, "There's a way to go about it, Selina, but keeping a child you don't have custody of isn't the answer. Apply to be his guardian."

Selina shook her head. "You and I both know they'd never grant guardianship to a single woman who is a complete stranger with no traceable source of income."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I know some people who could help."

"And in the meantime, he's back in that hellhole, alone. I promised him he wouldn't have to be alone." Selina looked up at Batman made one last plea. "Can you look me straight in the eye and honestly tell me that you think he'd be happier and better cared for at the Youth Home than he will be with me?"

Batman was silent for a long few moments. Just as he was about to speak, she saw the familiar sight of the Bat signal sweeping the night.

"Well?" Selina said, pointing upward. "They're calling you. Probably for somebody who really DOES need protection."

Batman gave her a hard stare, turned, walked to the edge of the building, and fired off a line. He looked back said, "I don't have time to deal with this right now. But this we're not finished, and I WILL be watching. Don't let me down." With that, he disappeared into the Gotham night.

*****************

Selina had just settled back down onto the couch when there was a knock at the door.

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "When did I move into Grand Central Station?" She glanced through the peephole to see a couple of very large men she didn't recognize.

"It's pretty late," she said through the door. "What do you want?"

The door crashed open, narrowly missing Selina, who immediately assumed a fighting stance. "Who the hell are you?" she hissed.

From behind the two gun-wielding behemoths came a voice. "Just somebody came to have a conversation." They parted, and Tony Zucco stepped between them.

"Hello, Miss Kyle," he said. "Or shall I say, Catwoman?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she asked, "What do you mean, 'Catwoman'"?

He laughed unpleasantly and said, "Oh, please. Spare me the 'who, me' act. I know who you are, so let's not waste time playing games."

"How did you find out?"

He paused to light a cigarette before replying, "I know people who know people ..... You know how it goes."

"Zucco, you've got some nerve-" she began

"I've got some nerve?" he asked. "You're in no position to talk, Miss Kyle."

"What do you want?" she asked once again.

"An understanding, that's all," he said. "You see, I've done a pretty good job at staying under the Bat's radar so far. But when someone as high-profile as you starts using my men, like Mick Dugan, that's going to get his attention, and I don't need him paying attention to me."

"Dugan?" she said. "But I didn't even wind up pulling that job."

"True," he said. "But I'm not willing to take the chance that I'll be that lucky again next time. So I'm here to make sure there's not a next time."

"Not a problem," Selina said. "I've been ... reconsidering my life plans anyway. So you can leave now."

"Right," Tony said. "I'm supposed to believe a skirt ain't gonna change her mind. No, I need something more solid tomake sure it doesn't happen." Turning to the thugs with him, he said, "Try not to leave any recognizable marks on the body."

Before they could respond, though, the door to the guest room opened, and a sleepy voice said, "Selina? I heard noises."

Zucco face broke out in a mirthless smile, and he said, "This is even better. I never pictured you as the motherly type. Or is it more like 'Mommy Dearest'"

Selina stepped back, shielding Dick with her body, and said, "You're not going to hurt this boy."

"Maybe, maybe not," Zucco said. "I guess that all depends on you."

"What does THAT mean?" she hissed.

"Simple," he answered. "I came here to kill you so that the Bat wouldn't follow your crimes to my henchmen and then to me. But you have some remarkable talents, talents I could use."

"I don't do that anymore," she said, "and even when I did, I didn't work for anybody but myself."

"Don't think of it as working for me, then," he said. "Think of it as working to keep the boy alive."

"If you thought Batman could connect me to you through your thugs, why wouldn't he connect us if I worked directly for you?"

"Two reasons," Zucco replied. "First, you're better than my men. In a league of your own, you might say. They might leave a clue, but you wouldn't. Secondly, you've got the added motivation of knowing that the boy's safety is in your hands. If the Bat finds me, he'll find a little corpse first."

"Over my dead body," she snapped.

"A tempting thought," he said, "but unnecessary. After all, do you really think you can take out all three of us before one of us gets a shot off?"

Ten minutes later, Dick's hands were tied behind his back, and there was a piece of tape over his mouth. There was a similar piece of tape over Selina's mouth, and she was tied tightly to a kitchen chair.

"She ain't goin' nowhere, Mr. Zucco," one of the men said.

"Yeah, right. It'll take her 15 minutes to get outta that. 20 tops. Nope, we need to buy ourselves some lead time." Turning back to Selina, he said, "I'll be in touch."

Then Zucco nodded at one of his thugs, who lifted his gun by the barrel and brought it down heavily on Selina's head. And everything went black.


	5. I Won't Last A Day Without You

Selina slowly emerged from the fog to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying on a hospital bed, and on the other side of the room was a sink. Above the sink was a set of cabinets marked with labels that read "Gauze pads", "Syringes", "Blood pressure cuffs", etc. As she looked around, she realized that there was an icebag on her head.

"Well, hello," said an older woman who entered the room. "Good to see you back with us again. I'm Leslie."

"Where am I? And how did I get here?" Selina asked slowly.

"You're at my clinic on Park Row," Leslie answered. "You were brought here by somebody who said you needed medical care without a lot of questions."

Selina's brow furrowed slightly, and she asked, "Batman?"

Leslie nodded. "Apparently he went to your apartment to talk to you and found you tied up and unconscious. He briefly checked you for injuries, and then he brought you here." Then she smiled and said, "The good news is that you just have a mild concussion. No fractures or lacerations." She adjusted the icebag before continuing. "I'm not going to ask a lot of questions, but I would like to get at least a brief medical history so I can be sure that I give you the right treatment. I'll be right back."

Leslie stepped out of the examination room and went to her desk. She rifled through a set of folders until she came to one marked "History forms". She pulled one out, slipped it in the folder she was carrying, and returned to the exam room.

Her patient, however, was nowhere to be seen. The icepack was left on the bed, and the window, which had been closed, was now open. She sighed softly, then she picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hi, this is Leslie. I'm afraid your friend has gone."

* * *

Selina quickly took to the rooftops, paused periodically for the waves of pain in her head to ebb, then continued on until she reached the roof of a safe house she had used in the past. She opened the door leading to a stairway, but she only went down only a flight of stairs and slipped into a janitor's closet. Removing a panel on the heating ducts, she reached inside and pulled out a spare costume she had stored there for just such an occasion. She slipped it on, placing the clothes she had been wearing into the duct, and then replaced the panel. Returning to the roof, she headed towards the seedier part of town.

Stopping on the roof of one particular building, she climbed down the fire escape until she reached the third floor. She slipped through the window into one of the rooms and walked over to the bed, where Mick Dugan was stretched out, still in his clothes and snoring loudly. She grabbed him by the collar and hissed, "Wake up, Dugan!"

"Huh? What the -- ? Who's there?" As his bloodshot eyes adjusted to the light, he squinted at the woman and muttered, "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Information, and I want it quick!" she snapped. "Where's Zucco?"

"Hey, I already got the 3rd degree from Batman. Why don't you go wake him up?" he whined.

"Because I'm here with you, not him," she said. "You don't understand the situation, Mick. He's a hero. I'm not. What he would do to you is nothing compared to what I'm going to do if you don't start talking."

"Alright, alright," he said. After he gave her an address she pulled him out of bed and dragged him across the room to a chair. "Hey, what're you doing? I told you what you wanted to know."

"I'm just not the trusting sort," she said as she tied him to the chair and slapped a piece of tape over his mouth. "I can't afford to have you call Zucco and tell him I'm coming." She went to the window, and with one foot on the sill, she turned toward him and said, "If the boy is still alive, I'll think about coming back to cut you loose. If not ...." Leaving the threat hanging, she disappeared through the window.

After a few minutes of struggling unsuccessful with his bonds, Mick rested and thought to himself, "The boy? What boy?"

* * *

"Mr. Zucco, how long are we going to keep the kid?"

Tony Zucco turned toward his henchman and said, "Until I say otherwise. Why? You got a problem with it?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zucco, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wondered if we needed to get some food or anything like that," said the chastened thug.

Tony took a puff of his cigar and said, "We keep him as long as we can use him to control Catwoman. She don't work for nobody willingly, though, so it's just a matter of time before she resists. We get what we can out of her, and then we get rid of the two of them together."

One of the other henchmen, who was reading the paper, said, "Mr. Zucco, you'd better see this."

Reading out loud, Zucco said, "'Nothing displays the neglect at the County Youth Home like the disappearance of Dick Grayson. The orphan son of two circus performers who were recently killed, he had only been at the facility a few weeks before he vanished. As is usually the case, the workers at the Home said they didn't know anything about the boy, why he would have left, or where he went." Next to the article was a picture of Dick, taken from the promotional literature announcing the arrival of the circus in Gotham.

"Hmm, small world," Zucco said. "We get rid of his parents, and then we wind up with him. Can't be a coincidence that Catwoman had their son. We'll have to move the timetable up. Too bad. I already had a couple of jobs in mind for her." He put the paper down on his desk and reached for his jacket, saying, "Take me out to the warehouse."

* * *

Catwoman leaned against the chimney of the house across the street from Zucco's and closed her eyes, willing the pain in her head to ease. Then she picked up the binoculars and again began looking over Zucco's house. Suddenly a hand was clapped over her mouth. She struck back with her elbow at whoever was behind her, but the hand remained.

"What are you doing here," a familiar voice whispered.

She pulled his hand away from her mouth and snapped, "I'm here for the boy, Batman. What're YOU doing here?"

Instead of answering her question, he said, "You're supposed recovering to be at the clinic."

"I'll be fine," she said. "I made a commitment to Dick, and I'm going to honor it. Do you really want to waste time debating this?"

" You're in no shape for this," he replied. "Go back to the clinic. I've got them under surveillance. They've got Dick stashed somewhere, but he's not here. I'll take care of it."

"So you can find him and send him back to the Youth Home? Not likely," she responded.

"You've got a concussion," he replied. "How are you going to save Dick when you have to go through Zucco and his men and you're starting off in a weakened state?"

"Fine," she said. "Work with me, then. You can deal with the muscles, and I'll just grab Dick and get out. I may not be 100%, but I can do that much." She paused for a moment before adding, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to save Dick. You can either help me or stay out of my way. If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive myself. And if anything happens to him because you stopped me, I'll never forgive you."

He grunted noncommittally, and she pushed him away. She turned her attention back to Zucco's house in time to see Zucco and his men leave the house and get into a black luxury sedan.

"Damn," she muttered and turned to see Batman remove a small electronic device from his utility belt.

"There's a tracking device on the car," he said. Then, before firing a line and swinging off, he said, "Keep up. If you can."

"Just like a man," she grumbled under her breath before following him.

They swung their way across Gotham to the warehouse district near the docks. Catwoman periodically paused to catch her breath and let the wave of pain in her head pass. Later on, she'd realize that, whenever she slowed down, Batman did as well, so that he stayed a steady distance ahead of her. Right now, though, she was focused on getting to Dick and she didn't notice it.

She finally caught up to Batman as he stood on a rooftop, peering through binoculars at a warehouse across the street. Without a word, he handed her the binoculars and pointed at the window of an office in the corner of the building. She looked and saw Dick, still in his pajamas, tied to a chair. As she surveyed the rest of the building, she saw Zucco and his henchmen talking with a few men in the main open area of the warehouse. Then the men all nodded as if in agreement, and Zucco and the two thugs began to move in the direction of the office where Dick was held.

"I'll take care of them," Batman said. "You just get in and get out. And be careful."

She nodded, and as she dropped to the ground in the shelter of an alley, he headed toward the open bay doors. She moved quickly across the street and found that the window was unlocked. She easily opened it and climbed in.

"Selina!" Dick exclaimed. "I thought they --"

"Shh, Dick, no time to talk right now. Let me get you out of here first." As she began to feverishly untie the ropes, they heard shouts from the main warehouse, followed by gunshots.

"What's happening?" Dick asked with a noticable tremble in his voice.

"Don't worry, Dick," she said. "That's the cavalry keeping Zucco busy."

The last rope dropped to the floor, and Dick immediately threw his arms around Selina's neck. Before they could move, though, the door was thrown open and a heavily perspiring Tony Zucco stepped in before slamming it shut behind him.

"You brought the Bat, didn't you?" he snapped. "Well, by the time he gets here, I'll give him something to find for his troubles."

As he pulled his gun and began to point it at Catwoman, Dick screamed, "NOOO!" He launched into Zucco, landing an acrobatic kick in his stomach that knocked the mobster back into a filing cabinet. The gun went off and Catwoman felt a sudden burning in her shoulder. She began to slide down the side of a desk until she was sitting on the floor. As she watched, Dick tried to grab Zucco's arm, but before the mobster could get off another shot, the door burst open and a batarang caught him in the side of the head. Zucco dropped to the floor without a sound as Batman stepped into the office.

"I heard them talking," Dick sobbed. "He's the one who said to kill my parents. And now he's killed Selina."

As Batman cuffed Zucco, Selina said weakly, "Dick, he didn't kill me. I'll be fine."

Dick spun around and fell to her side, followed closely by Batman, who quickly examined Catwoman's wound.

"She'll be okay, Dick," he said. "She just needs to rest. Grab one of those coats from the rack."

Dick heard sirens approaching as he handed Batman a padded denim jacket, and Batman wadded the jacket up into a makeshift pillow. Then he gently lifted Selina from her sitting position and laid her down on the floor, with her head on the jacket.

"Hey there, Dick," she said softly as she reached up to push the hair off his forehead. "What do you know? I came to save you, and you wound up saving me." Then she slipped into unconsciousness.


	6. Close To You

Harvey Bullock kicked open the door to the warehouse office, only to find a semi-conscious Tony Zucco swearing and handcuffed to the radiator. There was a gun two feet beyond his reach, as well as a wadded-up denim jacket with fresh blood on it. Pinned to the jacket was a note:

_I've got your witnesses. They're safe. I'll be in touch._

_-B_

He swore softly to himself before calling back through the door, "I need a couple of uniforms to take Mr. Warmth here downtown." Then he pulled out his cell phone and called the commissioner.

*****************

Batman easily carried Selina into one of the Manor's many spacious guest rooms. Leslie Tompkins followed them in, carrying a sleeping Dick. She gently laid him in the easy chair in the corner before turning her attention to the bullet wound in Selina's shoulder.

He stepped back to give the doctor room, asking only, "The boy?"

"Mildly sedated," Leslie replied without looking up. "He'll wake up in a bit."

Batman watched as Leslie quickly extracted the bullet. As she began to clean the wound, Leslie remarked, "This might be a good time to change out of your working clothes, unless you want to explain to the child how a vigilante like Batman knows Bruce Wayne. And while you're gone, I'll do something about this purple ... 'thing' ... she's wearing. I'm assuming you have some appropriate attire for her?"

Batman glanced at Dick before moving toward a dresser on the side of the room and pulling out a modest but elegant silk nightgown. He handed it to Leslie before leaving. He returned in 20 minutes, dressed now in a pair of navy slacks and a light blue golf shirt with a navy "W" monogram. Leslie looked at him and nodded approvingly as she finished bandaging Selina's wound.

"How is she?" he asked as Leslie slipped the sleeve of the nightgown back over Selina's shoulder, stood up and began to pack her medical bag.

"Not bad," she answered. "She lost a fair amount of blood, and between that and the concussion, she should sleep pretty soundly for a while. Alfred can change the dressing in the morning, and I'll come by in the afternoon to check on her.

Before he could ask anything else, there was a stirring in the easy chair in the corner. Dick's eyes fluttered open and he looked around for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Seeing Selina, he immediately rushed to her side.

Bruce caught him just before he reached the sleeping figure and said, "She's okay, Dick. She'll be fine. She just needs to sleep right now."

Dick looked up at Bruce doubtfully and asked, "Where are we? And who are you?"

Bruce smiled and said, "My name's Bruce, and this is my house."

Dick was quiet for a moment before simply asking, "What about the guy that shot Selina?"

"The police have him," Bruce reassured the boy. "And nobody knows where you are other than those of us here, so you and Selina will be safe."

At this point, Alfred interjected, "Perhaps you would like something to eat?"

Dick started to shake his head, but then his stomach growled and with a little embarrassment, he asked, "Maybe some peanut butter and jelly?"

"A specialty of the house," Alfred replied warmly. "Shall we move to the kitchen?"

Dick looked over at Selina and asked Bruce, "Can I stay with Selina afterwards?"

"For a bit," Bruce replied. "You'll need some sleep, same as she does. But you can have the room right next door to this one."

Bruce rose early the next morning, not as early as Alfred, but early enough. Before going down to breakfast, he glanced into Dick's room on his way to Selina's. Whatever morning cobwebs he might have had disappeared when he saw the rumpled bed covers but no Dick.

Before he could do anything, he heard Alfred cough quietly from the doorway of Selina's room. With a movement of his head, Alfred directed Bruce's attention to the bed. There he saw Selina sleeping, with Dick curled up right next to her.

*****************

Bruce finished eating while Alfred set up a breakfast tray for Selina. He then refilled his coffee cup and followed the butler to Selina's room. When they got there, they found Dick sitting in the window seat and looking out at the estate while Selina slept.

"Miss Kyle," Alfred said, "I have your breakfast." At this, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around her.

"Where am I?" she mumbled softly.

Before either Bruce or Alfred could answer, Dick had popped out of the window seat and come over to her saying, "This is Mr. Wayne's house."

"Hey, Dick," she said sleepily, "You doing okay?"

Dick nodded, and replied, "It's a nice house. They let me have the room right next to this one."

Alfred helped adjust the pillows so that Selina could sit up and eat, and after she started, he turned to Dick and said, "Master Richard, have you eaten anything yet?"

When Dick shook his head, Bruce said, "Suppose you go with Alfred and get some breakfast."

Dick frowned and said, "But I want to stay with Selina."

"She'll be here," Bruce said. "We're just going to do some boring grown-up talking. And I think Alfred made waffles."

The frown vanished, and Dick's eyes lit up. "I loved it when the circus stopped at a city where they had a Waffle House," he said.

Alfred smiled and as he led the boy toward the kitchen, he said, "I will do my best to meet such a lofty standard, Master Richard."

Bruce chuckled as he took another sip of coffee, and said to Selina, "Cute kid."

"He's been through a hell of a lot," she said. "I'm just glad to see him smile."

She took a drink of orange juice, and as she began buttering a piece of toast, she asked, "So, tell me, Mr. Wayne, how did we wind up as your guests? And, if you don't mind my asking, how did I wind up in this nightgown?"

"The second question first," Bruce said. "Leslie Tompkins is an old family friend, and after she finished dressing your wound, she saw to your change of clothes."

"Alone?" she asked. "Don't take this the wrong way, Mr. Wayne. I'm grateful for what you're doing here. But, let's be honest, you have something of a reputation. . .

"I do know how to fill an otherwise dull evening," Bruce said with a grin. "But, remember, you were unconscious and bleeding. Where would be the fun in that?"

Selina decided not to acknowledge that, took another bite and said, "What about question one?"

Bruce grinned. "My door is always open for beautiful damsels in distress. Seriously though, I try to be a good citizen. Batman knew Leslie, Leslie knew me. He needed a safe place for you and the boy, and the manor's security is top of the line. So I said why not? He does a lot for this town. Seemed like the least I could do."

"With no ulterior motives?" she asked skeptically.

"None," Bruce said. "Although, if it turned out that a beautiful woman felt like she owed me, that wouldn't be the worst thing that happened, would it?" With that he grinned.

Or at least he started to grin as he went to take another sip of coffee, but the half-filled cup slipped through his fingers and landed at the foot of the bed,.

"Oops, sorry about that," Bruce said with a sheepish grin taking the place of the borderline lascivious one. He took one of the napkins from Selina's tray and sopped up the excess spilled coffee.

"That should take care of it for now," he said. "I'm sure Alfred will have clean sheets and a fresh blanket after breakfast."

They made meaningless conversation for several minutes until they heard Alfred and Dick on their way back from the kitchen.

"Sounds like the cavalry is arriving," Bruce said. "I'll see you later. I need to pop into the office anyway. "

As he left, Selina muttered, "I'm sure you do. After all, an airhead's work is never done."

*****************

"Selina. We need to talk."

Recognizing the voice, Selina looked at the clock and said, "It's 3 in the morning. Don't you visit anybody while the sun is up?" She reached over and turned on the light and glared at Batman, who was standing just inside the window. "So what's on your mind? How long do you plan on keeping me here?"

"Until Zucco's trial," Batman replied.

"What about Zucco?" she asked. "He's in jail, right?"

"Even from jail, he has a long reach," Batman answered. "His men have already been to your apartment."

"So I'll find another one," she said. "It's a big city."

"You're safer here."

"Oh, please," she said. "Did you forget that you're talking to the woman you found inside the vault at the diamond exchange? Wayne may have good security; I know a thing or two about security systems."

"Outside of the people in this house, Dr. Thompkins is the only other person who knows where you are. Once you leave here, you could be seen by Zucco's people."

"But I don't like being locked up, even in a mansion," she insisted. "And Wayne? If he hadn't inherited a fortune, he'd be lucky to hold a job at Belly Burger. He's an idiot."

"Irrelevant." Batman said. "You're safe here. You're not going to be safe out there."

"I'm willing to take that risk," she replied.

"And the boy?"

Selina's eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"Are you willing to put him at risk, too?"

"Wait one minute, Batman! You know I'd never -"

"Because you would be," Batman interrupted. "Take him with you and you place him in the same danger. You can't be with him 24/7. Don't take him, and then everything you said about him coming first was a lie. So which is more important? Dick? Or your need to feel 'free'?"

There was a long pause. Then Selina took a deep breath. "You've made your point. I'll stay put until the trial."

*****************

A month passed, and something resembling a regular pattern began to develop. During the day, Alfred saw to Dick's education so that he would not be behind when he was able to attend school again. Selina spent a lot of time outside in the garden and taking long walks around the estate. In the evenings, Selina and Dick would join Bruce for dinner. From time to time, she wondered if maybe there was more depth to her host than she had initially thought. Invariably, though, at least once a week, Bruce would do something like dragging his tie through the spaghetti sauce on his plate while reaching for the butter and put those thoughts to rest, at least for a time.

After dinner, while Dick played or did schoolwork, Selina would read something from the Manor library. She had been surprised by its breadth of genre and subject matter. She noticed that, almost without fail, books by any author she happened to mention favorably during dinner time conversation would appear in the library shortly thereafter.

She mentioned this over a dinner of chateaubriand and loaded baked potatoes. Bruce simply shrugged and said, "Well, you ARE my guests. I'm glad you like them."

Once again, she wondered how much of this kind of culture and sensitivity there was, lurking beneath the foppish exterior. She was pondering this as she went to take a bite of the baked potato, and a glob of sour cream fell off her fork and onto her left breast. As she dipped a napkin in her water glass and began to clean it off, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bruce grinning, and with his eyebrows raised, he asked, "Can I ... help you with that?"

Selina was reminding herself to wait until Dick was in bed to give Bruce a piece of her mind. But Emily Post's version of Karma kicked in, and he promptly knocked over his wine glass and dumped his Cabernet Sauvignon in his lap.

After dinner, Selina and Dick were in the study. She had discovered a complete set of Agatha Christie's mysteries and was seated on one end of the coach, immersed in "Murder on the Orient Express". Dick was next to her with yet another Hardy Boys mystery of his own.

After Dick yawned for the third time, Selina said, "Sounds like you're getting sleepy, Dick. Maybe you should be getting ready for bed."

"It's not that late, Selina," Dick said, smothering another yawn. "It's only -" and he paused to look at the large grandfather clock "6:30."

Selina chuckled and said, "It was 6:30 when we went to dinner. That clock isn't running." She glanced at her watch and said, "It's really quarter after 8. Now scoot. I'll be up in a few minutes."

She finished the chapter she was reading, and then she went to Dick's room. She pulled the covers up over him, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and as he often did, he held up Ellinore to get a goodnight kiss too. She smiled, kissed the stuffed elephant, turned out the light, and went back to the study.

After a few more chapters, she caught herself in a yawn. "What's good for the goose..." she said and stood up to go back to her room. Before leaving the study, she noticed the clock again. She walked over to it and opened the glass covering on the face. Looking at her watch, she saw it was 11:16, so she began to set the clock to the correct time.

As the hands reached 10:47, though, she heard a small click, and the clock moved slightly. "What the --" she muttered.

A small opening was revealed between the clock and the wall. Glancing over her shoulder and seeing nobody, she tried moving the clock. To her surprise, it swung out on smoothly oiled hinges, exposing an opening in the wall and a set of stairs leading downward.

"Hmmm, what have you got hidden here, Mr. Wayne?" she said softly.

She thought for a brief moment, then stepped through the opening and began to cautiously make her way down the stairs toward the light that illuminated the lower steps.


	7. Superstar

As Selina looked into the brightly lit cavern, her eyes widened in surprise. The far wall was dominated by a large computer station. Looking around, she saw what appeared to be a small but advanced laboratory, as well as what appeared to be a parking spot for some kind of a vehicle.

"What have you got down here, Mr. Wayne?" she murmured as she stepped cautiously into the chamber. "Gotham's answer to NORAD?"

She stared at the laboratory. While she was no scientist, she could tell that this was no LexMart Junior Chemistry Set. She ran her fingertips over the table and observed that it was immaculately clean. She then moved toward the computer and sat down in front of it, looking over the keyboards and monitors. She spun around, looked over the entire cave and then turned back to face the computer and was about to touch the keyboard when she suddenly inhaled sharply. There, on a workbench off to the side, was a broken batarang. She reached out to touch it, as if to see if it was real, and then pulled back her hand as though she'd been bit.

"Holy – ", she began, but before she could finish the exclamation, she heard a gentle throat clearing behind her. She leapt from the chair, assumed a defensive posture, and then saw Alfred Pennyworth standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I see you've discovered the 'downstairs apartments'," he said, smiling.

At a loss for words for a moment, she finally snapped, "He's Batman! Bruce Wayne is the frickin' BATMAN!"

"Indeed," Alfred replied. "Is there some way I can be of service to you?"

Selina looked at him as though he had three heads and said, "I know you're a nice guy, but have you lost your mind? We're standing here in the middle of Batman's headquarters, and you're asking me if I'd like a cup of tea?!"

"I've always found tea to be an excellent response to the unexpected in life," Alfred responded. "Shall we adjourn to the kitchen?" He gestured toward the stairs, still smiling.

Selina considered her options at the moment, and concluded that the alternative to accepting the butler's invitation would be waiting for Batman in his cave. Giving the butler a wary sideways glance, she headed up the stone staircase, followed by Alfred.

*****************

"So does he do this often?"

"To which activity are you referring?" Alfred asked as he poured the tea.

"Bringing home strays," she replied. "Or is it bringing the villains to a place where he can keep a closer eye on them?"

"Neither," Alfred said. "We don't have a great many guests, and he's always been most strict about keeping his life as Bruce Wayne separate from his nightly adventures."

"Then why am I here?" she asked.

"It is as Master Bruce said when he spoke to you upon your arrival. The Manor is safer for you and the boy than any place else in Gotham."

"He also said he was doing a favor for Batman," she said. "He just conveniently left out that fact that he WAS Batman."

"Ah, but he is doing a favor for his other persona," Alfred responded. "Think of this as an action he has taken as Bruce Wayne which serves a purpose he favored as Batman."

"That still doesn't explain why I'm here, though," Selina replied. "There are plenty of people in Gotham who are in a dangerous situation, and I don't see a 'vacancy' sign lit up on the front lawn."

"This situation is unique," Alfred acknowledged. "He no doubt feels a certain measure in common with Richard."

"In common?" she asked skeptically. "What do playboy vigilantes have in common with circus kids?"

Alfred paused a moment before answering.

"What was it that brought Richard into your life and ultimately brought both of you to the Manor?"

"His parents were killed by Ton- ohhhh," she answered. "Like Bruce's parents."

Alfred sipped his tea without saying anything as she considered this parallel she hadn't considered before.

"That explains Dick," she said finally. "I was unconscious. He could've dropped me anywhere he wanted to. Why am I here? Am I supposed to believe it's all a coincidence that the one woman he puts in protective custody in his own home just happens to be a criminal that he was not so long ago accusing of kidnapping?"

Alfred smiled gently. "Miss Selina, Master Bruce has not confided his thoughts on the matter to me. Nor would I betray that confidence had he shared. However, I have observed that Batman's response to Catwoman is unlike his response to others he encounters in like situations."

Selina looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"How often have you been accosted by Batman and somehow managed to escape with 'the goods', so to speak?"

She smiled, and said, "A few times. But he's a man. He can be distracted."

"If that were the case," Alfred responded, "then Poison Ivy would not spend quite so much of her time as a guest of Arkham Asylum."

"Maybe he doesn't like redheads," Selina answered, her brow furrowed.

"In contrast, how many times has Joker succeeded in his criminal endeavors?" Alfred asked.

"Never," she said.

"What about Two-Face?" Alfred asked. "How many times has he been arrested, only to have his incarceration preceded by an extended hospitalization?"

"That's happened more than a few times," she replied.

"And you?" he asked.

She chuckled and said, "I think I may have broken a nail now and then."

"Why do you suppose there might be a difference?" Alfred inquired.

Selina thought for a moment as she took a long sip of her tea. "Are you telling me that he has some kind of crush on me and that's why I get away with the loot and without injuries? For Pete's sake, it's just flirting, something to make the confrontation more fun. That's all it is. Just a game."

"Perhaps," Alfred replied. "But it could also be said that a game can be used as a mask as surely as a strip of cloth or a cowl."

"Riiiight," she said skeptically. "So you're saying that's why he brought me here? As some kind of vigilante-themed courtship ritual?"

"I wouldn't expect so," Alfred said. "However, he would be the one to speak authoritatively in regard to his purposes and motivations."

"You didn't answer my question," Selina responded impatiently. "Either he brought me here because of the games we play, or there was some other reason for it. So which is it?"

"There is another possibility, Miss Kyle," Alfred answered patiently. "Namely, that there are times when our subconscious propels us in directions which our conscious selves seem unable to go."

Selina digested this in silence, and Alfred quietly poured another cup for himself.

"Soooooo," she said, "what do I do?"

"Shakespeare tells us 'This above all, to thine own self be true,'" Alfred answered. "It would not be my place to say what that would be, however. It is a question to which only you can know the answer."

"Me?!" Selina exclaimed. "How do you figure that? Before that night at the circus, I would've said being true to myself meant being the best damn cat burglar in Gotham. Obviously, that's all changed. Now I'm taking care of a child. Don't misunderstand me, I don't regret that decision one bit. But I'm on unfamiliar ground here. This isn't a life I ever expected for myself. I don't know what it means to be me in this setting, and that includes how to react to Batman."

Alfred considered this for a moment and finally spoke. "I would not presume to direct you, Miss Kyle. However, I would make one observation."

She raised her eyebrows in anticipation. "I'm listening."

"It has been my place to tend his wounds after his return from various and sundry confrontations," Alfred said. "I have stitched knife wounds inflicted by the Joker and set ribs fractured by Two-Face. I have injected anti-toxins after encounters with Poison Ivy and Scarecrow."

He paused, and she inserted, "And ….. ?"

"I have yet to be called upon to provide any substantial medical assistance after he has crossed paths with you," Alfred continued. "With your claws and your whip, as well as your own natural abilities, it certainly would be within your abilities to cause some measure of significant injury to him. However, you have not given him a need for anymore than the occasional bandage or a few stitches." He paused, smiled at her and said, "I wonder why that would be."

It took a minute for the implication to sink in, but before she could respond, they heard footsteps approaching from the direction of the study. Bruce Wayne ambled into the kitchen.

"Didn't expect anyone else to still be up," he said. "If it weren't for a foundation meeting in the morning, I'd probably still be out dancing with some twins I met up with. How was your evening?".

"Informative," she said. "Twins, eh? Must've been Tweedledee and Tweedledum, because if it was Two-Face, you'd be limping."

With that, she handed him her teacup and said, "Be a dear and put this in the sink for me, would you, Batman?" She then breezed out of the kitchen headed toward her room.

The fop vanished as Bruce spun around to Alfred.

"She knows?!" he snapped.

"I believe Miss Selina was reading in the study, as she does many evenings and stumbled upon the entrance to the cave.

"How?" Bruce growled.

"I couldn't say, Master Bruce. Once I realized where she was, it seemed more prudent to address the contents of her discovery rather than the means by which it was discovered."

Bruce's eyes narrowed for a moment in thought, set the teacup in the sink, and turned to leave.

"What are you going to do?" Alfred asked.

"I'm going to talk to her," Bruce said.

"Might I suggest waiting?" Alfred suggested. "It was quite a shock, and if you got to her now, before she's had a chance to process this revelation, I fear that nothing good will come of it."

"I think I have a bit more experience in dealing with Catwoman than you do," Bruce replied stubbornly.

"Indeed you do," Alfred agreed. "And in your experience, what typically happens when one corners a cat?"

*****************

Selina awoke to the smell of fresh coffee, and opened her eyes to see Bruce at the door with a breakfast tray.

"Breakfast in bed, for me?" she asked coquettishly as she sat up. "I won't tell Ivy. She'd be jealous."

Bruce settled the tray over Selina's lap and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"You know, Tweedledee and Tweedledum aren't really twins, just cousins," he said.

"Interesting," she answered as she smeared an English muffin with marmalade. "Any other criminal family trees you want to discuss before we talk about the real reason you came to see me this morning?"

He shifted uncomfortably in the chair and said, "I actually wasn't sure if you'd still be here, and I didn't want Dick to be the one to discover it if you weren't."

"Nice to know you have such faith in me," she said sarcastically. "I would've thought you knew me better than that before you brought me home like a lost kitten."

He tilted his head in puzzlement, and she explained, "Look, remember when you visited me here that night in cape and cowl? I told you then that I'd stay until the trial for Dick's sake."

She took another bite and continued.

"I don't claim to be a saint. I steal. But you and I? I've flirted with you, and I've fought with you, but I've NEVER lied to you. And that's more than you can say, Mr. 'Oh, I'm just doing a favor for Batman in between dates with bimbos where I manage to spill something on every jacket I wear'."

"You expected me to do something different?" he asked. "It was necessary to keep the identity a secret."

"You're missing the point," she answered with some exasperation. "What I'm SAYING is that I've never lied to you, so when I said I'd stay here, you should have known I would."

Bruce thought for a moment before replying, "That's fair. I am glad, though, that you'll be staying. You're good with Dick, and I've … never been all that great at relating to kids. What about after the trial? What then?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. What are you going to do after the trial?"

"I've thought about it," Bruce said, "but I haven't come to any decisions yet."

"Decisions about Dick or about me?"

"Two different issues," Bruce replied. "You're right about Dick needing better than the Gotham Youth Home, and I've got some ideas, but I need to check out a few things first. As far you're concerned, well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Coming from someone who sees the world in black and white with no room for gray, I can't say that comforts me all that much."

Bruce stood and said, "I live in the black and white. It's always been part of who I am. But you put your life on the line for Dick when you went after him, even with a concussion. That's a shade of gray I could learn to live with."

With that, he walked out.


	8. We've Only Just Begun

Selina was enjoying a cup of tea and reading the paper while Dick worked through his math problems. She noticed him looking over at her for a few seconds before turning back to his homework. After solving a few problems, he looked over at her again. After the pattern had repeated itself half a dozen times, she put the paper down and moved over next to him

"Got a question, Dick?" she asked. "It's been awhile since I had to solve any story problems, but let's see if I can remember how to do them."

"No," Dick answered. "It's not that. These are pretty easy. I was just thinking about something."

"Anything I can help with?" she offered.

He started to say something, stopped, and then blurted out, "Are you going to be my new mom?"

*****************

Bruce leaned against the edge of his desk and listened thoughtfully as Selina recounted her conversation with Dick. "What did you tell him?" he asked.

"I didn't really know what to say," Selina said. "I just told him that I'd be there for him as long as he wanted me to be, but I didn't know if they'd let me be his mom."

"If it was all up to you, what would you want the answer to be?"

"I've been asking myself that question ever since I woke up here in the Manor," she admitted. "On the one hand, I've always liked being independent, nobody depending on me but me. Being responsible for a child would certainly change that. Besides, there's no way Catwoman could continue to prowl at night, even without the stealing, if there was a child waiting at home. On the other hand ..."

"On the other hand," Bruce finished for her, "Having watched his parents die and having looked into his eyes, there's no way you can just walk away. You can't leave him alone the way you were when your parents died."

Selina nodded before adding, "Besides, I promised him. I told him he wouldn't be alone. I may have been a thief, but I have never gone back on my word. But what happens after Zucco's trial?"

Bruce didn't say anything for a moment. Then he spoke softly. "Hold that thought for a bit," Bruce said. "First, I want you to tell me something. You just said, 'I may have been a thief.' Past tense. Did you mean to do that?"

Selina looked at him in amazement for a moment, and then she said sarcastically, "Silly me! Here I thought we were talking about Dick and how to take care of him, and instead, you have to latch on to a new reason to play America's favorite game show, 'Let's Reform a Rogue'!"

At this point, she leaned forward in her chair, eyes narrowed, and she hissed, "Just to set the record straight, MISTER Wayne, this ISN'T about me! This has NEVER been about me! Haven't you listened to a single word I've said in ANY conversation between us since that night at the circus?"

Bruce waited for her to finish before asking, "Are you quite through?" She didn't answer him and her expression didn't soften, but she did lean back in the chair. "Apparently so," he said. "In answer to your question, yes, I have listened to every single word you've said. More importantly, though, I've watched your behavior change. A year ago, I never would've asked if you had left stealing behind. But you're not the same person you were a year ago. The night we spoke at your apartment, you told me that the Kane Diamond wasn't the only theft you had decided against because Dick needed you more. After you discovered that I'm Batman, you said you were committed to staying here with him until after Zucco's trial, but you never came right out and said you'd never steal again.

Bruce softened the tone of his voice as he continued. "There are different options available to make sure Dick is safe and well-cared for," he said, "But given the role that you're playing in Dick's life now, what those options are depends on whether or not the change you've made is permanent. If there is even a slim chance that, once things get back to 'normal', you might one day return to that old life, then some of those options aren't going to be in his best interest. Now, just so we're clear, and there is no ambiguity, are you telling me that you are prepared to commit to leaving the criminal life behind for good? That's what it has looked like, but I need to hear it from you."

Selina sighed. "I guess I thought it was obvious by now. Yes, of course."

Bruce sat back behind his desk, reached for the telephone and dialed a number.

"Could I speak to Rachel Green?" he asked. "This is Bruce Wayne calling." He noticed the puzzled look on Selina's face. "My lawyer," he mouthed.

"Hi, Rachel, sorry to disturb you," he said. "What does your schedule look like this week? ... No, it's nothing you have to drop everything for. Finish your deposition as scheduled. Maybe you could come out to the Manor the day after tomorrow? ... I've got a friend who has a sensitive matter she needs assistance with, and I'd personally be grateful if you could help her out. ... 2:00 is good. See you then!"

After he hung up, Selina tilted her head and asked quizzically, "Um, why is your lawyer coming here?"

"You were right, Selina," he answered. "You've been right from the beginning about Dick needing something better than the Gotham Youth Home, and you were right when you said that you've done many things but you've never lied to me. So I'm taking you at your word. Once Zucco's trial is over, in order for you to continue to care for Dick, you're going to need to have your legal ducks in a row. Rachel's good at that, and you can trust her."

"But why are you doing all this? I mean, taking me into your home, that I understood because it was about protecting Dick. But getting your lawyer involved is much more than that. You have the resources that you could apply to be Dick's guardian if you wanted to. You don't have to go to bat for me to help him. So why are you?"

Bruce got up and turned to look out the window. "Dick has something special with you," he said. "You aren't in his life because you were expected to be there. You chose to be there, and that's good for him."

He turned back around and continued, "And it's been suggested to me that I don't trust people enough, that I use the secret identity as an excuse not to trust people. Well, with you, that particular cat is out of the bag, no pun intended. So I'm taking that as a sign. I choose to trust you."

*****************

The next day was much like the others. Alfred noticed, however, that Selina seemed a bit distracted. He brought her some tea while she sat in the garden with a book, but when he returned an hour later, the tea hadn't been touched, and her book was on the table next to her while she gazed, deep in thought, at the far trees that marked the end of the garden.

"Was the tea not to your liking, Miss?" he inquired.

"Hmm? No, it was fine," she said, reaching out and taking a sip before setting it back down. "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

Selina's thoughts were a bit jumbled by the events of the previous day as well as by the anticipation of what was to come the next day. Was she to be a mother, a big sister, a friend, a guardian? And what of her former life? Although she didn't have any regrets about her commitment to leave stealing behind, she also didn't have any ready answers about what she would be if not the world's pre-eminent cat burglar. Her musings had reached no conclusions by the time Alfred announced that dinner was being served.

After dinner, Dick was in his room and Selina settled in front of the TV.

"Later tonight on the Gotham Eyewitness News Late Edition," the anchor announced breathlessly, "we'll have the latest updates on the hunt for Tony Zucco, the mob boss who made a daring escape this afternoon while being transported back to jail after an appearance at the Gotham County Courthouse."

She turned the TV off and moved swiftly to her bedroom. From the bottom drawer of her dresser, she retrieved the uniform she had been wearing when she was shot, which had since been mended, washed, pressed, and folded. Grabbing it, she hurried to the kitchen where she knew Alfred would be.

Alfred saw the uniform in her hand and said, "Miss Selina, I thought you were going to remain here safety's sake until after the trial"

"Change in plans, Alfred," she said. "Zucco's loose."

"Oh, my word," Alfred replied. "What are you going to do?"

Instead of answering him, she turned and, as she was leaving, said, "If Dick asks, tell him I had to go into town with Bruce and I'll be back later."

When she reached the Batcave, Bruce was already attired in cape and cowl. "Wait for me. It'll just take me a second to suit up."

"You heard" he said.

"So did you," she answered back, pointing toward the TV monitor which was frozen on an image of Tony Zucco.

"Let me handle this," he said. "Stay here with Dick."

"Not a chance," she snapped. "Now do you really want to waste time on an argument you're going to lose?

*****************

"I'm a little surprised you waited for me," she said as she came out of the vault, coiling her whip and affixing it to her belt.

"You seemed determined to come," he replied, "And there's a garage full of cars. Even if I had time to change all the locks, it wasn't going to stop you."

She followed him to the Batmobile and buckled in just in time for the sudden acceleration to throw her back into her seat. She watched the trees fly by in silence until they reached the main road and headed toward Gotham.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

In response he handed her a printout of hideouts Zucco had been known to use in the past. She raised her eyebrows as she saw that half of them had a "B" next to them and half of them had a "C".

"You know I was going to come?" she asked. "Why didn't you just tell me firsthand so I didn't have to hear about it on the news?"

"I didn't know," he answered. "But I knew it was a possibility. I prepared for that contingency."

He then handed her a small earpiece and an even smaller throat mike.

"Work through the places marked C from top to bottom. Use the mike to stay in touch," he said.

She bristled, "I've never needed you to cover me on the streets before, and I don't see why --"

"It's not for you," he interrupted. "It's for Dick. So far he's handled the death of the two people closest to him in the world about as well as can be expected. If something happens to you now, though, he might never recover. Think of it as a safety net you probably won't need but you should have anyway just in case."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before placing the earpiece and mike in position.

*****************

The next two hours flew by as Batman and Catwoman methodically worked their way through the list. One by one, they were all crossed off until he swung toward the warehouse on the docks where she had been shot by Zucco before while she approached a midtown loft.

A quick survey of the warehouse indicated that there was nobody around except for the guard sleeping in the office. Activating the mike, he said, "Nothing here. Joining you at midtown shortly."

"Take your time," she answered back. "It doesn't look -- wait a minute! Jackpot! He's got the windows covered, but one of the curtains drooped enough to see in. The sonuvabitch is packing a suitcase!"

"Wait for me," Batman barked.

"No way I'm giving him a chance to get away," she hissed. "I'll try to leave a big enough piece for you to identify."

*****************

Tony Zucco snapped the suitcase shut and set it by the door. Then he went to a framed picture and pulled it away from the wall to reveal a hidden safe. He spun the dial to unlock it and had just reached in when there was a whirring sound and his wrist was jerked away.

"What the - ?" He looked up to see Catwoman holding the other end of the whip that was wrapped around his wrist.

"Hello again, Zucco," she said.

"You?!" he spat. "I knew I should've taken care of you!" He reached with his free hand toward a gun sitting on the bed, but a quick yank on the whip pulled him away from the weapon.

Catwoman grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him onto the floor where a well-positioned boot held him in place. "We've been through that already, remember?" she hissed. "Nobody gets a second shot at me."

She swiftly tied his arms behind him and pushed him into a chair before picking up the gun from the bed. She held the gun by the barrel, lifted it in the air, and said, "As I recall, that's the position I was in when one of your goons hit me over the head. Let's see how hard **your** head is, shall we?"

As the butt began to descend, Zucco closed his eyes and cowered in anticipation of the blow. However, the blow never landed. He opened his eyes to see Catwoman still holding the gun, but now holding it by the handle and lining him up with the barrel.

"On the other hand," she said, "You had other plans, didn't you? It wasn't enough to put my lights out. You had the boy tied up, too, didn't you? Only you weren't headed to the warehouse to hit him with the gun. There he was, a defenseless child. You had already stolen his parents from him, but that wasn't enough. Would you like to see what it's like to be on the receiving end of what you had planned for him?"

She pulled the hammer back and fired a shot two inches about his left shoulder. "Oops, I missed," she said.

"That's enough," came a voice from the window as Batman entered the room.

"She's crazy!" Zucco screeched. "Do something!"

"Put the gun down," Batman said gently but firmly. "He doesn't deserve this."

"What?!" she snapped. "After what he did to the Graysons? He deserves this and a hell of a lot more!"

"Look, I'm sorry about the kid losing his folks," Zucco babbled. "They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know how the protection works. It wasn't anything personal against them!"

"He admits it!" Catwoman exclaimed. "And you still don't think he doesn't deserve this?!"

"I wasn't talking about Zucco," Batman replied. "I was talking about Dick. He's lost his parents already. He doesn't deserve to lose you, too."

After a moment she handed him the gun. "But we can't stop Zucco from talking. What's to keep him from hiring somebody to go after Dick, even from behind bars?"

The mobster realized that his moment of mortal danger was passed and said, "I'm sure we can work something out. I mean, it's not like they've got anything on me except your word."

"Wrong, Zucco," Batman replied. He pulled a small recording device from his belt, and pressed a small button. The confidence on Zucco's face dissolved as he heard his own voice.

_"Look, I'm sorry about the kid losing his folks. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know how the protection works. It wasn't anything personal against them!"_

"Okay, okay, so you got a recording," Zucco said. "We can still make a deal. You let me go free, I get out of town, and I'm not here to do anything about the kid. A little quid pro quo."

"No deal," Batman growled.

"Wait a minute," Catwoman said. "You were expanding your protection rackets, weren't you?"

"My insurance interests were growing," Zucco acknowledged. "Sign of a successful businessman."

"But your growth means somebody else takes a loss," she replied. "If Penguin knew you were horning in on his turf, you wouldn't be here for us to have this conversation, would you?"

Zucco's face turned white and he looked over at Batman in an unspoken appeal for help.

Catwoman leaned forward to place a claw under his chin, redirecting his face toward her. "Uh uh, Tony," she admonished him, "he's not the one you should be paying attention to tonight," and she pressed the claw a little harder into his skin for emphasis. "Here's the deal: you're not going anywhere but back to jail, where you'll keep your mouth shut. And your quid pro quo? Penguin doesn't know what you were doing, and, as long as nobody goes after Dick Grayson, then he won't hear about it from me."

*****************

"Here you are, Miss Kyle," Rachel Green said. "The custody papers are final. The judge said it was rather unusual, seeing as you're a single woman and you're not related to Dick in any way. But it helped that you'll be able to understand what it's like for a child to lose their parents. And having a prominent citizen like Bruce Wayne vouch for you never hurts."

Selina smiled as she looked over the documents and then she said, "Thank you so much, Miss Green. I wasn't sure the court was going to be okay with Dick and me living here at Wayne Manor."

"In a lot of cases, that might be an issue," Rachel replied. "But given the unique circumstances of Dick losing his parents, the higher level of security at the Manor worked in our favor. And it's not like you and Bruce are 'living together' in the normal sense."

"Oh, no," Selina hurriedly replied. "No, we're just friends. At any rate, I can't thank you enough."

Rachel rose to leave and said, "Well, if you can pry the secret of that chateaubriand out of Alfred, we'll call it even."

*****************

The dedication of the Martha Wayne Memorial Youth Sports Complex was a festive occasion. The mayor gave a speech. Members of the Gotham Knights were on hand to sign autographs. Even the cheerleaders from Gotham State University were there. But the major event was the Little League baseball game between the team from the Gotham County Youth Home and the team sponsored by Wayne Enterprises.

As Bruce, Selina, and Dick walked to the diamond, they passed the bus where the team from the Youth Home was getting off. One of the players looked vaguely familiar to Selina. The kid saw Dick and called out, "Look, everyone, it's circus boy!"

Selina felt Dick grip her hand tighter and heard him mutter "Nate" under his breath. She felt herself tense up as she remembered what she saw that night she had checked on Dick at the Youth Home.

Having failed to get a response, Nate continued, "Hey, circus boy, what makes you think freaks can play baseball?"

Selina started to turn toward the boy, but Bruce gripped her arm. "Just ignore it."

"But that's the boy who was bullying Dick!" she hissed.

"That doesn't matter," Bruce said. "If you give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction, then he wins."

Selina muttered something under her breath, leaned down, kissed Dick on the cheek, and said "Go get 'em kiddo.", Dick headed for the field and Bruce and Selina found seats. When Nate took the mound for the Youth Home to warm-up, she just leaned back and glared.

In the second inning, Dick came to bat. The first pitch came in high and inside, sending him ducking. Selina started to rise up, but Bruce put his hand on her arm. "Look, the umpire is warning him. It'll be fine."

As Nate prepared to throw the next pitch, they saw Dick's lips mouth something. Bruce grinned and it turned into a full-fledged smile as Dick sent the next pitch high over the left field wall.

After cheering as Dick rounded the bases, Selina turned to Bruce and said, "What were you grinning about before he hit the ball? Didn't you see what that brat from the Youth Home tried to do?"

Bruce nodded, still smiling, and said, "I did. But I also read Dick's lips, and I know what he said."

"What was that?" she asked.

Bruce leaned back. "He said, 'Freak this.'"


End file.
